Optical coupling apparatus and methods of making same

Abstract

Disclosed are apparatus and methods for optical coupling in optical communications. In one embodiment, an apparatus for optical coupling is disclosed. The apparatus includes: a planar layer; an array of scattering elements arranged in the planar layer at a plurality of intersections of a first set of concentric elliptical curves crossing with a second set of concentric elliptical curves rotated proximately 90 degrees to form a two-dimensional (2D) grating; a first taper structure formed in the planar layer connecting a first convex side of the 2D grating to a first waveguide; and a second taper structure formed in the planar layer connecting a second convex side of the 2D grating to a second waveguide. Each scattering element is a pillar into the planar layer. The pillar has a top surface whose shape is a concave polygon having at least 6 corners.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for forming an optical coupler, comprising:
 forming an insulation layer on a semiconductor substrate;   epitaxially growing a semiconductor material on the insulation layer to form a semiconductor layer;   etching the semiconductor layer to form an array of etched regions in the semiconductor layer according to a predetermined pattern; and   depositing a dielectric material into the array of etched regions to form an array of scattering elements in the semiconductor layer, wherein the scattering elements are arranged to form a two-dimensional (2D) grating.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the scattering elements become gradually larger along a first direction from a first convex side of the 2D grating to a first concave side of the 2D grating according to the predetermined pattern, the first convex side being opposite to the first concave side;   the scattering elements become gradually larger along a second direction from a second convex side of the 2D grating to a second concave side of the 2D grating according to the predetermined pattern, the second convex side being opposite to the second concave side;   there is a same first distance between centers of every two adjacent scattering elements along the first direction; and   there is a same second distance between centers of every two adjacent scattering elements along the second direction.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the semiconductor material comprises silicon;   the dielectric material comprises silicon oxide; and   each scattering element of the plurality of scattering elements   is a pillar in a corresponding one of the etched regions, wherein   the pillar has a top surface whose shape is a concave polygon having at least 8 edges, and the concave polygon is symmetric about a line along the first direction and is symmetric about a line along the second direction.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the scattering elements gradually change shapes and sizes from the first convex side of the 2D grating to the first concave side of the 2D grating; and   the scattering elements gradually change shapes and sizes from the second convex side of the 2D grating to the second concave side of the 2D grating.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the concave polygon is at least one of:
 a polygon having 2 reflex interior angles and 8 edges;   a polygon having 4 reflex interior angles and 10 edges;   a polygon having 4 reflex interior angles and 12 edges;   a polygon having 6 reflex interior angles and 12 edges; or   a polygon having 8 reflex interior angles and 16 edges.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the concave polygon is at least one of:
 a polygon that has reflection symmetry about a line which divides the polygon into two convex pentagons;   a polygon that is divisible into a rectangle and two triangles located on two sides of the rectangle respectively;   a polygon that is divisible into a vertical rectangle and two horizontal triangles located on two sides of the vertical rectangle respectively;   a polygon that is divisible into a hexagon and six triangles located on six sides of the hexagon respectively, wherein the six triangles include at least one of:   six regular triangles that are congruent, or
 four regular triangles that are congruent and have a first size, and two regular triangles that are congruent and have a second size larger than the first size; or 
 a polygon that is divisible into an octagon and six isosceles triangles, wherein:
 the octagon has reflection symmetry about a line crossing two sides of the octagon, and 
 the six isosceles triangles are congruent and located on the remaining six sides of the octagon respectively. 
 
   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the concave polygon has 2-fold rotational symmetry; and   the concave polygon has no N-fold rotational symmetry, when N is larger than 2.   
     
     
         8 . A method for optical coupling, comprising:
 forming an array of scattering elements arranged in a planar layer, wherein the array of scattering elements form a two-dimensional (2D) grating, and forming the array of scattering elements comprises:
 forming a plurality of scattering elements in a semiconductor layer, wherein a thickness of the semiconductor layer is greater than a thickness of each of the plurality of scattering elements; 
   forming a first taper structure in the planar layer connecting a first convex side of the 2D grating to a first waveguide; and   forming a second taper structure in the planar layer connecting a second convex side of the 2D grating to a second waveguide.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein each scattering element of the array of scattering elements has a shape of a concave polygon, and the concave polygon is at least one of:
 a polygon having 2 reflex interior angles and 8 edges;   a polygon having 4 reflex interior angles and 10 edges;   a polygon having 4 reflex interior angles and 12 edges;   a polygon having 6 reflex interior angles and 12 edges; or   a polygon having 8 reflex interior angles and 16 edges.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein each scattering element of the array of scattering elements has a shape of a concave polygon, and the concave polygon is at least one of:
 a polygon that has reflection symmetry about a line which divides the polygon into two convex pentagons;   a polygon that is divisible into a rectangle and two triangles located on two sides of the rectangle respectively;   a polygon that is divisible into a vertical rectangle and two horizontal triangles located on two sides of the vertical rectangle respectively;   a polygon that is divisible into a hexagon and six triangles located on six sides of the hexagon respectively, wherein the six triangles include at least one of:
 six regular triangles that are congruent, or 
 four regular triangles that are congruent and have a first size, and two regular triangles that are congruent and have a second size larger than the first size; or 
   a polygon that is divisible into an octagon and six isosceles triangles, wherein:
 the octagon has reflection symmetry about a line crossing two sides of the octagon, and 
 the six isosceles triangles are congruent and located on the remaining six sides of the octagon respectively. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the scattering elements become gradually larger along a first direction from the first convex side of the 2D grating to a first concave side of the 2D grating, the first convex side being opposite to the first concave side; and   the scattering elements become gradually larger along a second direction from the second convex side of the 2D grating to a second concave side of the 2D grating, the second convex side being opposite to the second concave side.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 there is a same first distance between centers of every two adjacent scattering elements along the first direction; and   there is a same second distance between centers of every two adjacent scattering elements along the second direction.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first distance is equal to the second distance. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the scattering elements gradually change shapes and sizes from the first convex side of the 2D grating to the first concave side of the 2D grating; and   the scattering elements gradually change shapes and sizes from the second convex side of the 2D grating to the second concave side of the 2D grating.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein each scattering element of the array of scattering elements has a shape of a concave polygon, and:
 the concave polygon has 2-fold rotational symmetry; and   the concave polygon has no N-fold rotational symmetry, when N is larger than 2;   the first taper structure has a reducing first width from the first convex side to the first waveguide;   the second taper structure has a reducing second width from the second convex side to the second waveguide;   the first waveguide comprises a first output port located substantially at a focal point of the first set of elliptical curves; and   the second waveguide comprises a second output port located substantially at a focal point of the second set of elliptical curves.   
     
     
         16 . A method for communication, comprising:
 forming a photonic die on a substrate;   attaching an optical fiber to the photonic die; and   forming an array of scattering elements on the photonic die for transmitting light between the photonic die and the optical fiber, wherein:
 the array of scattering elements is arranged in a planar layer to form a two-dimensional (2D) grating, the scattering elements become gradually larger along a first direction from a first convex side of the 2D grating to a first concave side of the 2D grating, the first convex side being opposite to the first concave side, and there is a same first distance between centers of every two adjacent scattering elements along the first direction, 
 the 2D grating is configured for receiving an incident light from the optical fiber with an incident angle, 
 the incident angle is measured in plane of incidence between an axis of the optical fiber and a direction perpendicular to the planar layer, 
 each scattering element has a first length along a first direction that is in a top surface of the planar layer and perpendicular to the plane of incidence, and has a second length along a second direction that is in the top surface and perpendicular to the first direction, and 
   a ratio of the second length to the first length is determined based on the incident angle.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the incident angle is zero;   each scattering element has a shape of a concave polygon in the top surface of the planar layer; and   the concave polygon has a 4-fold rotational symmetry.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the incident angle is non-zero; and   the ratio of the second length to the first length is larger than one.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the ratio of the second length to the first length becomes larger as the incident angle becomes larger. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 each scattering element has a shape of a concave polygon in the top surface of the planar layer;   the concave polygon is symmetric about a line along the first direction and is symmetric about a line along the second direction; and   a total area of the array of scattering elements in the top surface is slightly larger than a core size of the optical fiber and is determined based on a diameter of the optical fiber.